The Project

We aim to build a disposable and inexpensive robot that can be rapidly manufactured and adapted to many different use cases, such as searching for survivors in tight spaces or to locate holes in inaccessible pipelines.

Open Source

We’re working on making the S.A.R.T completely open source, with download options for our operating systems and sketchup models, as well as putting all our code on GitHub. You can check out the downloads page here.

S.A.R.T Interface

The S.A.R.T robot is controlled via a dashboard called the S.A.R.T Interface. Features include a video stream, raw data log, FTP file access panel, SSH console, mapping, sensor output and much more. Users never have to access the S.A.R.T hardware directly – everything can be done within the interface. See the demo here!

Complete Documentation

We provide extensive documentation on all our design and construction processes when it comes to coding, modelling, building, and coming up with new ideas. You could build your own S.A.R.T simply using the information provided in our daily blog.

Our Team

Erin Biskup

2018 - Present

Erin is our 3D designer who creates and improves parts for our robot. She has an extensive knowledge of Blender and knows several languages such as Italian, German and Japanese. Sidenote: not a Nazi. She is the brains behind a number of our mechanical designs including the wheel systems.

She often has ideas on improving the robot that somehow no one else even considered. Contains such ideas in a mythical orange folder hidden somewhere in a faraway place. Secretly also a dragon.

"If no one comes from the future to stop you from doing something, then how bad of a decision can it really be?" - Erin Biskup

Gerard Elias

2015 - Present

As the mentor and treasurer for the team, Gerard keeps everyone on track and looks at the cheaper options for the robot. He spends most of his time updating the team on new products and research in the area of technology and robotics

The team owes its creation to Gerard, who approached Aaron, Jack, Matthew, Riley and Ryan with the original Rapidly Manufactured Rescue League design brief in 2015.

"The Boss" - Gerard Elias

Kyle Ewyk

2018 - Present

Kyle is one of the programmers. He works mostly with programming behind the autonomous intelligence. He gets the gist of Java, and knows C# and Python scripting pretty well. Kyle happens to be great at fixing things, he is the counterpart to Ben, who is great at breaking things. They form a cycle of balance.

He’s basically the maintenance man. He is also the only one with a good relationship with the school IT support department.

"Disregard females, acquire currency" - Kyle Ewyk

Ben Hallett

2018 - Present

Ben is our 3D printing expert and the jack of most trades, he usually does good, but never without breaking something along the way. Ben is generally in charge of communication with the higher-ups, including ordering parts and apologizing to them when he breaks said parts. Not only can he break important objects but, although a rarity, he can replace and fix things that he didn't even break in the first place. His knowledge of general hardware and his abundance of free time has led to much progress in a short amount of time.

"Not with that attitude it isn’t" - Ben Hallett

Connor Kneebone

2018 - Present

Connor is the main software engineer and the team leader. He does most of the programming and manages the software on both the robot and the control panel. He has experience in C++, Python, HTML and Javascript and is also familiar with Linux. He is also typically responsible for writing software documentation.

He is often behind the creative direction of the robot and delegating everything he doesn’t want to do to the other team members. He is said to have a pleasant smile and is known to enjoy walks through moonlit parks.

"I’m a reasonable man, get off my case" - Connor Kneebone

Graham Stock

2017 - Present

Graham Stock is a physics and mathematics teacher at St Francis Xavier College. He coordinated the 2017 SFX RoboCup trip - everything from itinerary to budget.

More recently, Graham lead a project to start up an SFX Makerspace for all students, which provides useful tools and machinery that the team doesn't usually have easy access to.

"Everything is Physics." - Graham Stock

Joe Spandler

2018 - Present

Joe is one of our 3D designer who has been redesigning and improving the robot. He comes from a distant land, where robots control society, but felt sorry for him and taught him their secrets. He currently studies design and has a number of skills in engineering including knowledge in Autodesk Inventor where most of the modelling is done.

Joe is the new team mechanic, in charge of keeping the robot at its optimum performance during the RoboCup competition. This includes everything from repairing wheels to dismantling the robot just to spite everyone.

"angry silence" - Joe Spandler

S.A.R.T Alumni

Riley Cockerill

2015 - 2017

Riley is one of the primary builders, building the robot and printing some of the parts needed to improve and modify the design.

His job is to know the mechanical aspects of the robot. He also works as a team mechanic, making sure that everything is properly secured and placed before going into competition.

Riley is the "man of the people" and often acts as an intermediary and representative for the team with other teams and officials at RoboCup.

"She'll be right" - Riley Cockerill

Ryan Ewyk

2015 - 2017

Ryan is one of the programmers. He works mostly with the programming behind the intelligence of the robot. He has a background in Java, C# and Python, and is slowly learning C++. He works almost exclusively on programming the robot to function, including everything from movement to sensors.

In previous versions of the S.A.R.T, Ryan has helped set up the wheels for control through both the Dynmaxiel and through Arduino as well as creating python scripts to allow a PlayStation controller to interact with the Arduino, controlling the wheels.

"Rats! My plan has been foiled again!" - Ryan Ewyk

Aaron Maggs

2015 - 2017

Aaron’s main area of expertise is networking. His research has allowed the team to connect to the Raspberry Pi over Wi-Fi and Ethernet using the SSH protocol, saving a lot of time. More recently, he administrates the Xirrus access point and the Windows Server/DHCP Server laptop that forms the backbone of the S.A.R.T Network.

Aaron often communicates ideas between the team and the staff at St Francis Xavier College, including arranging the purchase of items for the team with Gerard and Peter and acquiring the latest technology from the IT department. Aaron now manages the backend of the SFX Rescue website by keeping everything up-to-date, including MySQL and basic HTML.

Aaron is now following his passion of Networking by doing a Certificate III in Information, Digital Media, and Technology at CIT. He is also doing networking at Cisco Networking Academy. He plans to follow that up with a Certificate 4 and finally a diploma. Aaron is still managing the S.A.R.T website with his free time and is currently in the process of setting up a business. Aaron also takes the time to help with the current S.A.R.T Team.

"Can I speak to someone who isn't useless?" - Aaron Maggs

Matthew Pham

2015 - 2017

Matthew is an experienced IT teacher at St Francis Xavier College who has contributed tips and ideas to the coding of the S.A.R.T robot. His expertise in Python has helped the team design algorithms for control systems for the S.A.R.T v2.

Matthew is still committed and passionate about teaching all things related to Information Technology, albeit at Canberra Grammar School, where he is busy assisting the next generation of Code Cadets. He has not forgotten about SFX or the S.A.R.T. and occasionally takes some time to keep in touch and provide moral support and guidance to the current S.A.R.T. team.

"Let me get my second breakfast" - Matthew Pham

Jack Williams

2015 - 2017

Jack is one of the team's programmers. As the creator of the S.A.R.T interface, he specialises in web, including frontend languages such as HTML and CSS, and backend languages such as Javascript and PHP, although he is also proficient in Python and Java. His current project is the S.A.R.T Control Panel, a briefcase computer used to control the S.A.R.T.

Jack has completed an Engineering minor at the Australian National University, which allows him to bring new skills and ideas to the team in the areas of design, 3D printing, electronics and coding.

Jack keeps everyone up-to-date with frequent additions to the team documentation, and more recently, the website blog.

Jack is now completing a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Information Technology at the ANU. He is still managing the S.A.R.T website and helping the new S.A.R.T team along with Aaron.

"My point is your point is pointless" - Jack Williams

Matthew Williams

2015 - 2017

Matthew is the main robot designer and creates the parts to be 3D printed in Google Sketchup Make. He incorporates input from all other areas and fits everything into a chassis that is as small as possible. This way, many design iterations of the robot can be conceptualised without the large amounts of time necessary for 3D printing, only to find that something doesn’t fit or is inaccessible.

Matthew has completed an Engineering minor at the Australian National University, which allows him to bring new skills and ideas to the team in the areas of design, 3D printing, electronics and coding.

Matthew is the team mechanic, keeping the robot at peak performance during competition with everything from reapplying plasti-dip to dismantling the entire robot to clean the wheels.

Today we talked torque. We’re looking at new servos for the Mark II S.A.R.T robot. Gerard is considering buying 4 of these AX-18A servos. http://support.robotis.com/en/product/dynamixel/ax_series/ax-18f.htm...

Today we were interviewed by the Canberra Times for an upcoming article. We’ll include a scan and possibly a link when it is published! http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-students-to-compete-at-robocup-junior-national-championships-20160909-grd3nk.html...